Bute ready for bigger things

Now that he has held the International Boxing Federation super-middleweight championship for more than a year, making three successful defences, it seems Montreal’s Lucian Bute is ready to move on to bigger and better things.

“He made a good statement (Friday) night,” said Stephan Larouche, the director of operations for promoter InterBox along with Bute’s trainer. “He showed he’s a serious candidate to control the division in the near future.

“If you don’t fight against the best, you can be a world champion, but you won’t be remembered as a great fighter,” Larouche added. “At that level, there are two goals – capture the world-title belt and make money … as much as you can, since your chance to earn an income might be short. Money talks.”

Bute retained his 168-pound title Friday night at the Bell Centre in an optional defence against Colombian challenger Fulgencio Zuniga. Bute knocked the challenger down in the fourth round with a left uppercut to the solar plexus, eventually finishing off Zuniga at 2:25 of the round.

The fact the bout was televised in the U.S. on Showtime’s ShoBox series certainly didn’t diminish Bute’s stock. The last image American fight fans had of Bute came last October, when he was reeling after being knocked down by Librado Andrade in the final round. Bute arose, but was wobbly against the ropes, waiting for the bell that conserved his title.

Against Zuniga, he displayed no lasting effects, undoubtedly bringing back fans onto his bandwagon.

“He didn’t spend much energy. It was a good sparring session for him,” quipped Larouche, who originally wanted Bute to meet Germany’s Robert Stieglitz, 27, with an impressive 34-2 record, including 21 knockouts. But Showtime executives insisted on Zuniga, now 22-4-1, who suffered the quickest defeat of his eight-year career.

“Unfortunately, he hit me in the stomach and took all the air out of me,” Zuniga said. “I just couldn’t breathe.”

Bute was tentative in the opening round, but quickly got stronger and began dominating following the first three minutes. The quick-handed southpaw jabbed effectively. When Zuniga began reaching with his right, Bute cleverly countered with his left, over the top. Zuniga, in turn, kept walking into shots.

“I felt from the first round that I was better than him,” Bute said. “I controlled the distance and landed the right shots to hurt him. I felt that my punch went right through him. I didn’t even think he would be able to get up.”

It seems the best is yet to come for Bute, the transplanted Romanian, in a weight category that has the potential of becoming the most exciting in boxing, according to Don Majeski, an American boxing agent who works with InterBox.

“The mega-fights are coming, and (Montreal) can compete with any city,” Majeski said.

Majeski said Jean Bédard, president of Sportscene Group Inc., the firm that finances InterBox, met with Ken Hershman, senior vice-president and general manager of sports and event programming for Showtime, last week to begin talking about potential scenarios.

“In the next 24 months, this is going to be a hot division. And that’s not just hyperbole,” Majeski said.

Bute could be in line to eventually meet World Boxing Council champ Carl Froch, who defends against Jermain Taylor on April 25. World Boxing Organization champ Karoly Balzsay, like Froch, is undefeated, while World Boxing Association champ Mikkel Kessler has only one defeat in his career.

There’s also talk of middleweight champs Kelly Pavlik (WBC, WBO) and Arthur Abraham (IBF) moving up in weight. Majeski didn’t discount the possibility of Bute eventually becoming a light-heavyweight himself.

“He’s ready to make the next step,” Majeski predicted of Bute. “He’s on the brink of going from a star to a superstar. He has so much charisma. This is a kid who has come in as an immigrant and ingratiated himself with the people of Quebec, who don’t often embrace outsiders. He has charisma, good looks and isn’t just a good fighter.

“The things he transmits go beyond boxing. He has almost a visceral affect on them.”

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.